Texas 2009 - 81st Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB667 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	81R2741 KEL-D
2	2	By: Shapleigh S.B. No. 667
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to student Internet access to financial and academic
8	8	information maintained by public institutions of higher education
9	9	and to a fixed tuition rate provided by certain institutions of
10	10	higher education to students for satisfactory academic
11	11	performance.
12	12	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
13	13	SECTION 1. Subchapter Z, Chapter 51, Education Code, is
14	14	amended by adding Section 51.973 to read as follows:
15	15	Sec. 51.973. STUDENT INTERNET ACCESS TO FINANCIAL AND
16	16	ACADEMIC INFORMATION. In accordance with guidelines adopted by the
17	17	Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board and to the extent the
18	18	institution is legally authorized to provide access to relevant
19	19	information, each institution of higher education shall provide a
20	20	method by which each student enrolled in the institution may
21	21	access, through the institution's Internet website:
22	22	(1) the student's current financial status, including:
23	23	(A) any amount of tuition or fees the student
24	24	owes;
25	25	(B) any institutional, state, federal, private,
26	26	or other grant, loan, or other financial aid available specifically
27	27	to the student through the institution's financial aid office,
28	28	including the applicable amounts of aid; and
29	29	(C) any amount of money the student owes on a
30	30	student financial aid loan the student received through the
31	31	institution's financial aid office; and
32	32	(2) the student's current academic status, including:
33	33	(A) a list of the courses in which the student is
34	34	currently enrolled;
35	35	(B) a list of the courses that the student has
36	36	completed at the institution or at another institution for which
37	37	the institution has granted or will grant the student course
38	38	credit, and the grade assigned for each course; and
39	39	(C) information concerning the required and
40	40	elective courses, including the number of semester credit hours,
41	41	that the student must complete for the student's degree plan.
42	42	SECTION 2. Subchapter A, Chapter 54, Education Code, is
43	43	amended by adding Section 54.0105 to read as follows:
44	44	Sec. 54.0105. FIXED TUITION RATE FOR SATISFACTORY ACADEMIC
45	45	PERFORMANCE. (a) In this section:
46	46	(1) "Coordinating board" means the Texas Higher
47	47	Education Coordinating Board.
48	48	(2) "General academic teaching institution" has the
49	49	meaning assigned by Section 61.003.
50	50	(b) Except as otherwise provided by this section, in a
51	51	semester or other academic term, the governing board of a general
52	52	academic teaching institution may not charge an undergraduate
53	53	student tuition under Section 54.0513, or under any other law
54	54	granting the institution discretion to set the tuition rate, at a
55	55	rate that exceeds the rate the institution charged the student
56	56	during the first semester or other academic term the student
57	57	enrolled in the institution if the student:
58	58	(1) enrolled in the institution:
59	59	(A) as a first-time freshman; or
60	60	(B) not later than the first fall semester
61	61	following the student's graduation from high school;
62	62	(2) has been continuously enrolled at the institution
63	63	since initial enrollment in the institution;
64	64	(3) is currently and at all times while enrolled at the
65	65	institution has been a resident of this state for purposes of
66	66	Subchapter B or was otherwise entitled to pay tuition at the rate
67	67	provided for residents of this state;
68	68	(4) is enrolled for a full course load for an
69	69	undergraduate student, as determined by the coordinating board, in
70	70	a baccalaureate degree program;
71	71	(5) has completed at least 75 percent of the semester
72	72	credit hours previously attempted at the institution; and
73	73	(6) has earned a cumulative grade point average of at
74	74	least 2.5 on a four-point scale or the equivalent on all coursework
75	75	previously attempted at the institution.
76	76	(c) Subsection (b) does not apply to a student enrolled in a
77	77	general academic teaching institution after:
78	78	(1) the fourth anniversary of the date the student
79	79	first enrolls in the institution, if on that anniversary the
80	80	student is enrolled in a four-year baccalaureate degree program; or
81	81	(2) the end of the standard completion period
82	82	established by the institution for the student's degree program, if
83	83	the student is enrolled in a baccalaureate degree program of longer
84	84	than four years.
85	85	(d) Each general academic teaching institution shall notify
86	86	each entering undergraduate student of the eligibility
87	87	requirements for a fixed tuition rate under this section.
88	88	(e) In consultation with general academic teaching
89	89	institutions, the coordinating board shall adopt any rules the
90	90	coordinating board considers appropriate for the administration of
91	91	this section, including rules necessary for purposes of Subsection
92	92	(f).
93	93	(f) The coordinating board shall adopt rules requiring a
94	94	general academic teaching institution to provide a fixed tuition
95	95	rate under this section to a student who satisfies the other
96	96	requirements of this section but, solely as a result of a hardship
97	97	or other good cause shown as determined by board rule, is unable to
98	98	satisfy the requirements of Subsection (b)(1), (2), (4), or (5).
99	99	(g) This section does not apply to a student who transfers
100	100	from one institution of higher education to another.
101	101	(h) This section does not apply to a student who enters a
102	102	general academic teaching institution for the first time before the
103	103	2010 fall semester. This subsection expires January 1, 2016.
104	104	SECTION 3. (a) Not later than January 1, 2010, the Texas
105	105	Higher Education Coordinating Board shall adopt guidelines as
106	106	required by Section 51.973, Education Code, as added by this Act,
107	107	and rules as required by Section 54.0105, Education Code, as added
108	108	by this Act.
109	109	(b) Not later than August 1, 2010, each public institution
110	110	of higher education shall provide a method by which the
111	111	institution's students may access financial and academic
112	112	information as required by Section 51.973, Education Code, as added
113	113	by this Act.
114	114	SECTION 4. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
115	115	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
116	116	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
117	117	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
118	118	Act takes effect September 1, 2009.